Internship Program at Genetic Alliance

The Internship Program at Genetic Alliance has been in place since 1997. Genetic Alliance internships enable individuals to contribute meaningfully to significant work in empowering individuals, families and communities to reclaim their health. Interns are a part of the Genetic Alliance team, and assume responsibility for various aspects of programs and projects. Interns are expected to be self-starters, self-guided and able to work independently. Our program is extremely competitive. We provide internship opportunities of varying duration, from semester to year-long. Individuals in various stages of their academic and professional careers are encouraged to apply.

Design your internship experience around one or more of the following areas:

We offer both topic-based and skill-based internships. When considering the internship opportunities, you may be interested in:

• A specific topic and you have a number of relevant skills
• A specific skill and you are agnostic to the topic (but are interested in health in general)
• A specific skill you wish to apply to a specific topic

Your expression of your creativity and ingenuity begins with the application: use the cover letter to describe why you are an excellent fit for the internship for which you are applying. See other requirements below.

Topic Based Internships

Expecting Health: Maternal and Child Health

Our work in Expecting Health focuses on improving the health delivery system for women, children, and families across multiple. We use the lens of screening and testing throughout the preconception, prenatal, and childhoodperiod to increase knowledge and promote the dissemination of evidence-based materials and resources. A cornerstone of this area is Baby’s First Test (www.BabysFirstTest.org), the nation’s center for newborn screening for parents and health providers. This program integrates grassroots education, national policy, and broad public awareness to highlight one of the most successful public health programs in the nation

This internship is valuable for those interested in health education, health policy, advocacy and outreach, research, public health and social media.

Genes in Life: Genetics and the Public’s Health

Help Genetic Alliance empower consumers to take charge of their health. This internship focuses on public health systems, point of care technology, and engagement of individuals and families around genetic and genomic services. Hone your research, writing, and outreach skills in areas such as whole genome sequencing, genetic testing, family health history, patient support, and advocacy. Interact with our network partners through meetings, listservs, and webinars. Genes In Life programs include GenesInLife.org, the National Genetics Education and Consumer Network, state-based public health screening, genomics and health information technology, and family health history.

This internship is valuable for those interested in genetic counseling, public health, health information technology, medical school, nursing, allied health professions, health education, medical anthropology, community-based health work, and more.

BioTrust: Translational and Clinical Research Platforms

Engage in cutting-edge program development, research, and writing with a variety of stakeholders in the health community, including advocates, scientists, clinicians, ethicists and policy-makers. Opportunities include projects focused on Genetic Alliance Registry and Biobank, Registries for All, Free the Data, and Trialsfinder. Focus on how partnerships among stakeholders (disease-advocacy organizations, industry, academia) will advance research initiatives that influence prevention and intervention while gaining experience with biobanking and registries, natural history studies, and open access and privacy. Gain firsthand experience of how the power of technology and data repositories can facilitate the translation of research into treatments, open access to information, and improve informed decision-making in health. Gain valuable skills in data management and survey instrument development. Build the technology and outreach aspects of campaigns to engage the public. Assess the ethical implications of Genetic Alliance’s work with a renowned team of ethicists who provide guidance around data access, data sharing, engagement, and trustworthy research practices. Interns will create concrete products including peer-reviewed papers, white papers, surveys, tools, best practices, and web-based training modules.

This internship is valuable for those interested in bioinformatics, biomedical research, ethics, clinical data management and more. A scientific background and strong communication skills are preferred.

Skills Based Internships

Technology & Health Internship

Focus on the power of technology to transform health. Interns will have the opportunity to further develop tools and work on systems at the cutting edge of the interface between health and technology. Projects will include web-based tools like Registries for All and Disease InfoSearch, website design/development, and managing information technology systems. If interested, interns will also have the opportunity to engage in our work around genomics and health information technology, with a specific focus on electronic health record standards and Meaningful Use implementation.

This internship is valuable for those interested in web design/development, information technology, and database management. Applicants with experience in information technology and/or web development are strongly preferred.

Outreach and Public Engagement

Dynamic individuals will have the opportunity to engage in outreach to the diverse array of communities in Genetic Alliance’s network, with a special focus on underserved communities and Health Advocacy Organizations. Interns may work on direct outreach campaigns to engage with Disease Advocacy Organizations by phone, or on promotional outreach campaigns for Baby’s First Test, Genes in Life, Genetic Alliance Registry and BioBank, Disease InfoSearch, TrialsFinder and, Registries for All. Interns will develop and enact effective strategies to communicate the benefits of joining our network, be the point of contact for non-profit leaders, maintain organized and up-to-date outreach progress reports, and track outreach success. Specific project activities may include outreach through social media, news jacking, and the creation of original blogs. Interns will gain valuable outreach and online marketing experience while helping Genetic Alliance to revolutionize access to information and promote an environment of openness. For this internship, we strongly prefer individuals with outreach experience, excellent verbal and written communication skills, and experience with social media tools, aggregators, and applications.

This internship is valuable for those interested in community outreach, underserved communities, social media, marketing, and analytics.

Business Case Internship

Genetic Alliance has a number of products that are in need of business expertise. 1) We have created for-profit/nonprofit partnerships around a health information technology product built on the Platform for Engaging Everyone Responsibly (PEER) Clinical Research Network (view several campaigns on this platform: TrialsFinder, Registries for All, Free the Data. 2) We have developed a dynamic crowd-sourced and curated web resource of information on 13,000 diseases and related resources. 3) We are run the nation’s most robust engagement about newborn screening for all 50 states, and are building comparable resources for screening in the preconception and prenatal period. 4) We have developed tools to engage the public in the implications of genetics and genetic technologies in on health. Each of these needs some assemblage of business plans, metrics, evaluation, distribution, marketing and advertising.

Interns, preferably in business school or a graduate of a business related program, will work with us to fine tune and test potential paths to market. This will include: assessing current business models for various markets (academic, industry and nonprofit), developing and implementing marketing plans, and working with advertising tools. You will meet and interact with individuals who are redesigning public engagement and the biomedical research enterprise. Minimum commitment 10 hours per week.

This internship is valuable for those interested in entrepreneurialism, lean startup, business, marketing, advertising and more.